Faults:

Bank 1 VVT hub rattles on cold start due to oil drain-down (not the chain tensioner, it is "revised style" since mid-2004).

Most 1st gen VVT engines eventually make this noise. Honda was the first and patented the best design, so theirs is not as susceptible as Nissan & Toyota.

Bigger oil filter upgrade for less cold-start VVT rattle: Wix57356 ($10.50 Oreally) or Purolator PL14610 ($7.50 Fred Meyer). These are the same filter made by Mann & Hammel Corp. Use 0w-30-40 synth oil to minimize cold-start VVT rattle.

Radiator's plastic tanks cracked.

Front wheel bearings worn.

Exhaust pipe drooping in the middle long run. They reduced production costs.

Ridiculously contrived HID headlamps are impossible to change - the bolts are behind the bumper, and the bulbs cost too $100 anyway. Instead I installed 912 DRL bulbs for a little extra low-beam + 9006 fog lights.

Trim and bumper covers fell off all around. The plastic clips dried up very brittle. I went to a junkyard and found the same brittle clips on all Muranos.

Odd P235 18" tires are hard to find as a full set, hence mine are mismatched brands. But it drives straight! Steering is a little stiff on cold mornings. Turning from lock-to-lock when driving off warms it up. Changing PS fluid to Royal Purple synthetic helped too.

General Comments:

I like the electric heated seats. Don't really like the semi-hidden wipers that freeze under a sheet of ice. 4x4 with traction control works great. Anti-lock brakes work great. Radio reception is noisy - starting with this model Nissan discontinued the windshield dipole antenna ('90s Quest & Infiniti). Overall stereo sound & the tape player are absolutely tops. I'm an audiophile so I'd crank it loud and space out within seconds.

The best car audio system ever for Rock and Metal! Factory subwoofer is tight and punches kick-drums clearly yet in the background without overbearance. Palm-muter rock guitar and toms are chest-felt. As long as the snare drum was recorded with some punch it sounds extra-present in this car. Even the "thin" punk-rock recordings sound full and natural here. If you find a like-new Murano for a couple hundred bux then you should keep it just for the stereo system.

This model was designed by a marketing department, not engineering, as a trendy one-owner single-use disposable car. Nothing besides the oil changes is meant to be serviceable. Rather sad 'cuz otherwise this car was a pleasure to drive around. I really liked the CVT. After I learned to keep the accelerator immobile at or below 2k RPM to let the PCM optimize the power, average MPG went up from 16.7 to 20. It still got up to speed smoothly in one pull in "one gear", then cruised on the freeway at or below 2k RPM.

Tune-up, diagnosis and inspection of vq35's quirks was a major elaboration. It is a guzzler compared to Infiniti vq30 engines but doesn't perform any better in daily driving. You'd expect a timing chain to be a major improvement, but it is not a double-row roller with sprockets, ha! It is a narrow geartooth chain with plastic sliders. I've worked on several Nissan v6s and vq35s invariably fall apart sooner than 4cyl. Though all Nissan v6s are kinda junky compared to 4cyl KA24E and Z24.

Zip ties on bumper covers and drilled screws on door trim. Factory single-use clips long discontinued by the marketing department.

I took the hacksaw mods method when replacing the radiator rather than factory elaboration, to make it easier for the next owner. Likewise used a stud on the manifold support bracket instead of bolts, and left off factory dingalings so next time don't need to disassemble 1/4 of engine compartment just to remove the intake, just to get to bank1 spark plugs and VVT solenoid.

You have to put it on a lift to replace the power steering belt.

Infiniti qx4 is a superior vehicle for cheap, Suzuki Vitara is much superior, and so is Pathfinder m21 with KA24e. My brother had an Altima with 4cyl CVT, also better.

Faults:

Rear door latch failed.

CVT started having issues 80,000 miles.

Transfer case broke at 75,000 miles.

Driver side headlight went out at 67,000 miles.

Rear-differential was about to break (discovered during transfer case damage) and was replaced.

General Comments:

I would not purchase another 1st gen CVT from Nissan. Though I'll admit the transfer case breaking was my fault (for having AWD on in the winter while driving on snow), the fact that the CVT was starting to go even though I had kept all the fluids changed regularly and kept it up to date on maintenance was the last straw. If you're looking at a 1st gen CVT, I would avoid it as the problems weren't fixed until the most recent generation.

Following that, the dealers I went to were awful and Nissan parts were outrageous. $200 to replace a lightbulb (eventhough it was the ballast and not the bulb that was the issue) and then another $400 to replace the ballast. Had they tested the bulb first, I wouldn't have had to pay for a new one.